MM, MC, or MI cartridge

I read the threads from the link provided by @rauliruegas and it seems @needlestein was the only coherent poster. Raul is correct - I was wrong when I said VDH has a unique stylus design, but the end cartridges results with the stylus is unique.

Bottom line - what other cartridges state their styli last 2500-3000 hours? From people's experience, has anyone had cartridges other than van den Hul's last this long? I would bet most of these guys use so many different cartridges they lose track of how much time is on each one when they have them serviced.

Personally, I would only send my cartridges back to AJ van den Hul for service/maintenace, for any necessary worn parts replacement- be it stylus, cantilever, suspension, whatever. He made it originally and knows what it should be. He has the last word on his own products!

mglik, I am on the opposite side of your question. I own OEM versions of B&O MMC1 and MMC20CL.  I also own Acutex LPM320STRIII which I've heard both in its headshell adapter and in the Acutex Saturn adapter, which is much lower mass than any headshell.  All of these are MI types and they are fantastic cartridges.  The only MC type that I own that compares is the Ortofon MC2000, used with an external active gain stage into an MM phono input.  I would have a hard time choosing among these options. What I wonder is how much better could a $10K+ cartridge like the Lyra Atlas SL be. I'm sure someone is going to pipe up and say that the Atlas SL is better, but I need to hear it for myself.

It's often said that everyone should try to listen to a Decca moving iron cartridge at least once. Be warned, it's like just one hit of heroin! You may never come back. I have two of them, the Jubilee and the Reference. These are not like the old finicky Decca-made cartridges, but are well made by John Wright, an ex-Decca engineer who has had the patents for them since about 1989 and produces them under the London name. Hum is not a problem anymore. My Benz Micro and Ortofon MCs have stayed in the cupboard for the past eleven years, and I have seen no reason to change out the Reference since I got it. Intricate detail, immediacy, and compulsive foot-tapping rhythm are the reasons. Down sides are a sensitivity to surface noise (which has led to me becoming obsessed with record cleaning. I use a Loricraft and then a Degritter), and the fact the stylus on the tiny armature is easily damaged. You absolutely cannot allow any reverse force, sideways force or even a hard drop onto the record. Wet cleaning is out as well, as any Stylast or similar will get into the cartridge (no long cantilever) and destroy the glue holding the coils onto the magnets, resulting in the cartridge becoming extremely microphonic.

My Reference is currently boxed up and about to set off to the UK to see Mr Wright as it needs a new stylus. I have two other kinds of MI cartridge to keep me going until it returns, as well as the Jubilee. There is a Nagaoka MP-500, which is a different take on MI, but very respectable in performance - even though new, it currently sounds better than the Reference with a worn stylus. That will obviously change when the Reference comes back refreshed. But it's only a fifth of the price, and a bargain at that. I also have a new Grado Lineage Statement 3 to try out. A similar design to the Nagaoka, with a cantilever that doesn't see-saw, but which has an iron collar immediately on the other side of the rubber suspension ring. I am told it will give the Reference quite a challenge, but I'll need to run it in for ~50 hours before it gives its best. By then, I'll have forgotten what the Reference sounded like!

New London Deccas have just stopped production because of difficulties getting the armatures cut. John Wright also wants to retire. It would be wonderful if somebody like Soundsmith or Expert Stylus would take over! Both places are happy to re-tip a Decca/London, but they can't replace a damaged armature if John Wright no longer makes them.

If it sounds like I am over-praising a cartridge that barely anyone uses, go check out the reviews from Fremer and the like - all say the Reference has quirks and disadvantages, but produces heavenly sound. It's certainly my final cartridge. But perhaps check out the cheaper Nagaokas and Grados if you're moving iron curious!

dogberry"It's often said that everyone should try to listen to a Decca moving iron cartridge"

I have never heard that said, expressed, or claimed in any country I have visited.

You should get out more!